Dell adds high-end laptop to XPS lineup

Dell's XPS line is being expanded, with the addition of a very high-performance laptop aimed at those who really do want the latest and greatest. The M1530, on top of being an all-around high-specced notebook, will come stock with several newer-gen pieces of technology such as a Blu-ray optical driver and an optional solid-state hard drive. Other options include up to a 256MB discrete GeForce GPU and a traditional HDD, operating at 5400RPM with a massive capacity of 320GB.

It wasn't all that long ago when SSD was just a dream. Now, we're seeing it as a stock option from many different vendors. The cost per gigabyte remains high, though it has certainly shrunk dramatically. If you recall, it was not even a year ago that SanDisk was pitching a 32GB unit for $600. The same can be said for hi-def players, when a year ago they could easily reach over a thousand dollars for one. Now Dell is offering both of these units in the same notebook. It may not be entirely cheap, with the Blu-ray option adding on $500 and the 64GB SSD adding on a behemoth $1000, but with more vendors offering them that is likely to change.